***“If you look deeply into the palm of your hand, you will see your parents and all generations of your ancestors. All of them are alive in this moment. Each is present in your body. You are the continuation of each of these people.*”* ~ Thich Nhat Hanh **
The name for this circle ‘KERÜNYÜ KI – House of Listening’ was inspired by the name of Mr. Niketu Iralu’s house in Zubza, Nagaland. One of YA team member (Tejal) visited this place in 2014 along with few of her friends. For years Uncle Niketu as he is fondly called and his community has been doing the work of enabling love and harmony in places and people who have experienced conflict through the power of listening. Their house in Zubza, Nagaland is called ‘KERÜNYÜ KI SABANG’.
KERÜNYÜ in Tenyidie means listening,
KI is a word for house, common to many Naga languages.
SABANG in Ao stands for platform.
In a world which is rapidly getting closer through innovations in technology, the distance we feel with our closest ones is increasing at a similar rate. In years of conversations with young people and looking in our own lives, we have realised that how knowingly or unknowingly we have contributed in widening this gap, in particularly with our parents.
One of our mentors Sushma Didi recently shared how ‘Family’ as a unit of social and personal significance has experienced a shift for this generation. And she attributed this shift for many ills we see in the world today.
The lack of space of expression and understanding between the young people and their parents has been a source of heartbreak for us. So this new year, at Youth Alliance we intend to sow a seed, for a stronger, more expressed relationship between young people and their parents. To build a bridge, inch by inch for them to step into each other’s shoes and co-exist with peace and joy.
We invite you to be part of this one day circle Kerünyü Ki‘ House of Listening’ where together we will create space for conversations with young people and parents to nourish and nurture relationships.
PROGRAM DETAILS:
The first round was hosted in February 2018, facilitated by Ravi Gulati(Manzil) our mentor and guide and hosted by Tejal Rajygor and Vibhuti Aggarwal ( team members at Youth Alliance).
Read a brief : On February 10th, 36 people from three different age groups (below 30, 30-50 and 50 and above) came together in a circle for a day. It was a Saturday, a day one looks forward to rest and unwind but these 36 courageous people took the road less traveled when they decided to come be part of Youth Alliance's 'Kerünyü Ki- House of Listening', a gathering for youth and parents.
The room was filled with people who had a deep desire and an urgent need to understand and to be understood in their relationship with their parents, children or a dear one with whom they want to have an authentic relationship. While some chose to speak up things on their heart and mind, some participated through their listening! But the most beautiful thing was to see how everyone chose to show up! While each one may have taken back something for their head-heart-hand, at Youth Alliance, for us the day was a testimony of how an intended small circle and quiet processes enables people to listen to themselves and connect with what is truly important for them!
'Kerünyü Ki- House of Listening' is a humble start which was born from witnessing our own stories and those of around us which spoke of widening gap and lack of space for expression in some of the most essential relationships of our life. The experience of co-creating the first one has given us immense hope and courage to allow ourselves to dream of creating something like this again!
Some resources that were shared during the day:
- A comic strip by Hugo Freitas
- A film called Nirnay by Pushpa Rawat
3. Article by Parker J Palmer